Maternity panty



sept- 29, 1959 D. L. RosENBERG 2,905,947

' MATERNITY PANTY Filed Oct. 2.1, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 3g mma/Wd'oadaaqys sePt- 29, 1959 D. L. RosENBERG 2,905,947

MATERNITY PANTY Zzamseaauiv az'oZL. Raseneag,

ulowrzey United States Patent O MA'I'ERNITY" David L. Rosenberg, Newton,Mass., assignor to Boston Royal Petticoat Co., Bost, Mass.,- a

Application october 21, 195s, serial No. 542,004

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-224) This invention relates to maternity wear, and moreparticularly to undergarments, the present application being acontinuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 316,610,filed October 24, 1952, now abandoned.

One of the most commonly used type of womens underpants is thatsupported by a band of elastic running around the upper edge. While thistype is satisfactory for ordinary wear, it is not usually suitable forWear during pregnancy, because the elastic waist band, if tight enoughto support the garment securely at the normal waist level, is likely tocause discomfort. Maternity underpants, having front panels with enoughextra material in front to provide for expansion of the abdomen andraising of the waist band during later stages of preg- `nancy, tend tohang in loose folds in the front and present a bulky appearance if wornduring the earlier stages.

The general object of this invention is to provide a maternity pantywhich provides for expansion in the vertical direction over the abdomenso that the front part of the waist band can be raised to a comfortableand secure position above the largest portion of the abdomen, whichproduces no uncomfortable pressure on the abdomen during later stages ofpregnancy, and which yet lits smoothly in the front, without any bulkyfolds or wrinkles, when worn during early stages of pregnancy when theligure is almost normal.

In the drawing illustrating the invention;

Fig. l is a front view of a pantry constructed according to theinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the panty at ajunction of the front and back panels of the panty;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the panty as it would appear on a wearer whosefigure is normal;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the panty as it would appear on a wearer in anadvanced stage of pregnancy.

As shown in the drawings, the garment consists of a generallyconventional back panel 11 and crotch panel 12, attached to anelasticized front panel 13. An elastic waist band 14 runs entirelyaround the upper edge. The usual leg openings 15 and 16 are provided,and may be made with or without elastic, as preferred.

The front panel 13 is made of a piece of material which has a verysubstantial degree of elasticity in the vertical direction, and, in itsextreme stretched condition is considerably longer up and down than theback panel 11, for example, once and half to twice as long. Furthermore,the vertical elasticity of the front panel is substantially uniform overits entire area. An example of a suitable material is a knit material towhich are sewn vertically disposed elastic threads 17, evenly spaced,and fairly close together, for example, about one half inch apart, anddisposed all over the panel. These threads are applied to the panelunder tension so that, when relaxed they form uniform line shirrings 20all over the panel. These shirrings impart a certain amount ofhorizontal elasticity to the front panel as well as vertical 2,905,947Patented Sept. 29, 1959 "ice 2 elasticity. Another suitable material isone which is loosely Yof a yarn which has a high degree of elasticity,suchv as that known in ythe trade as Helanca yarn.

The back panel 11 may be made of inelastic material, or material s u'chas ordinary knit rayon of the type commonly used for undergarrnentsdisposed so that its direction of greatest elasticity liesliofiz'orltal. The back panel, when made of such material, may stretchto a slight degree in the vertical direction, but its verticalelasticity may be considered negligible as compared to that of the frontpanel.

The elasticity of the front panel is such that, in its relaxed state,its margins 13a and 13b adjoining the seams 8 and 9, respectively, areshorter, up and down, than the adjoining margins 11a and 11b of the backpanel.

The upper edges near the front corners of the back panel are cut tocurve upward so as to provide extra length along the margins 11a and11b, as exemplified in Fig. 2. While the seams 8 and 9 are beingstitched, margins 13a and 13b are stretched to the length of margins 11aand 11b, as exemplified in Fig. 2. When the margins of the front panelreturn to their relaxed condition, small gathers 21 and 22 are formed inmargins 11a Iand 11b all along seams 8 and 9 respectively.

As seen in Fig. 3, when the wearers figure is normal, the front panel,due to its substantial vertical elasticity, lies smooth, with the waistband 14 disposed at ordinary height in front, and the margins 11a and11b of the back panel are formed into small gathers. As the wearersabdomen enlarges, the Waist band 14 may be raised in front and the frontpanel stretches in the vertical direction to allow both for the raisingof the Waist band and the enlargement of the abdomen.

The margins 11a `and 11b can stretch to a limited extent so that thereis no binding in the region of the side seams. It will be noted that thefront panel material is not stretched to its fullest extent when it isbeing stitched to the back panel. The central part of the panel can bestretched considerably further than the margins 13a and 13b. Theassembled garment is thus provided with a graduated verticalextensibility which is at a maximum at the central portion and graduallydiminishes toward the side portions of the garment, becoming negligibleat a point somewhat to the rear of the seams 8 and 9.

The uniform distribution of elasticity over the front panel not onlyensures a smooth fit for various degrees of enlargement of the abdomen,but minimizes pressure on the abdomen, as the individual elastic threads17, or the corresponding vertical threads of a material knit of elasticthread, stretch uniformly over their entire length and produce only alight, uniformly distributed tension.

What is claimed is:

l. A maternity panty having a front and a rear, a top opening, and legopenings, and comprising a rear panel extending continuously across theback and part way across the front on each side of the garment, andhaving front margins, a crotch portion, and a front panel joined to saidcrotch portion and extending sidewardly thereffrom along said legopenings and having side margins, the panty having front seams joiningsaid side margins to the adjacent ones of said front margins, said seamsextending from said top opening to said leg openings at pointssidewardly spaced from said crotch portion, whereby the seams areadapted to be disposed substantially vertically along the sides of theWearers abdomen when the panty is worn, said front panel being made ofmaterial having a considerable degree of vertical elasticitysubstantially uniformly distributed over the panel, the entire rearpanel being relatively and uniformly inelastic in the verticaldirection, and said front margins being 3 longer prior to joining of thepanels than said side margins in their unstressed condition and beinggathered along said seams, and said seams being vertically extensible. l

2. A panty as described in claim 1, the entire front panel being shirredin the up and down direction by a plurality of evenly spaced, verticallydisposed elastic threads attached thereto.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,645,369 Bieberman Oct. 11, 1927 White Oct. 25, 1938 OHern 2 Dec. 25,1945 Jacobson Feb. 22, 1949 Miller June 27, 1950 Rutledge June 9, 1953Walters i. Dec. 21, 1954 Garrou et al Apr. 19, 1955 Blatt Oct. 11, 1955Blatt Sept. 18, 1956 Hampp May 21, 1957

